Store Manager Jimmy Bellis and his team of 475 employees have spent months preparing to open Wegmans Food Markets’ new 120,000 square-foot store on the southwest corner of Harrisburg Pike and Route 30 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. One thing they know for sure is that Lancaster County shoppers are eager to finally have a nearby store to call “my Wegmans.”

The doors open at 7 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 23, and not a moment too soon for those who have been anxiously waiting. Long before Wegmans announced plans to build the store, the family-owned company received hundreds of requests.

“Dear Wegmans, please build a store in Lancaster. I would love you even more than I already do,” read one, and “If I had but one wish, it would be to have a Wegmans in Lancaster. Let's make it happen!” said another.

“Shoppers from this area have been traveling to Downingtown and Harrisburg to shop at our stores for a very long time,” says Bellis. “That’s part of what makes this opening so special for us. We felt welcome here before the first shovel was in the ground.”

Executive Chef Keith Briggs and his group of 100 culinarians at the new store are ready to bring Wegmans’ latest innovations starting day one. Among other highlights, the Lancaster store boasts three firsts for the company’s Pennsylvania locations:

2) Authentic Italian pizza is made to order from a custom rotating brick-hearth oven, and quick-fired at 800 degrees on volcanic stone from Mt. Vesuvius in Italy

3) A made-to-order salad station with the freshest ingredients from the market: crisp greens, grains, toppings, and outstanding dressings

Shoppers will be treated to everything Wegmans is known for, starting with an expansive produce department that offers hundreds of fresh fruits and vegetables. As they move through the store, they’ll have a sense of visiting different shops, as one would in a European open-air market. Departments include seafood, meat, deli, bakery, a cheese shop, beer, wine, and more. Beyond the restaurant-quality prepared foods and groceries, there’s a pharmacy, a floral shop, and a health and wellness section for one-stop shopping.

Looking for organic choices? Across the store, there are more than 4,000 organic items in all. What may be pleasantly surprising is the store’s consistent, low prices and Family Pack items that save 30% or more.

Above and beyond the bells and whistles of the new store, what stands out most is the incredible customer service that helped earn Wegmans the title of America’s Favorite Supermarket in a consumer study by Market Force Information this year.

“We’re all here for the same reason: our customers,” said Bellis. “Our aim is to make food shopping a pleasure. We can’t wait for the doors to open at 7 a.m. on Sunday.”

Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is a 98-store supermarket chain with stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, and Massachusetts. The family-owned company, recognized as an industry leader and innovator, celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2016. Wegmans has been named one of the ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ by FORTUNE magazine for 21 consecutive years, ranking #2 in 2018.